The Human or the Fly?

Have you ever slowed down time? It is an interesting question so let me briefly explain where I am coming from. I believe that time is relative to an individual. It moves differently depending on the life you live. This goes beyond the easy contrast between a banker in New York and a fisherman in Jamaica, and more into the realm of perceptual awareness. Take a fly for example. The dirty little insect is in constant motion for nearly its entire life. The creature also only lives for a matter of days before it dies. To a fly, the two seconds it spends resting atop your basket of french fries is equivalent to a summer under the Tuscan Sun for a human. So, we look down upon the fly and its insignificant, thoughtless life and yet I am willing to bet that no reader of this piece will ever spend a summer in Northern Italy, lounging and soaking in the sun while eating the most delicious food in the world. This is the relative experience of the fly because of its perception of time. The world moves at a different rate to it, and its life resides in a different frame than ours.

On a personal level, I was contemplating this line of thought while trailing behind a group of friends. We were on a stroll through the city on a Fall day when I became most interested in the leaves drifting down to the sidewalk from above. I began slowing my pace, my thoughts, when I lost them. It did not concern me but when I finally caught up to them while they wait, I said nothing. I was still in a train of thought I could not break. Effectively removed from my world, one remarked that I looked as though I was half asleep. When I comprehend this now as I have returned to my desk, I think to myself that I wasn't half asleep but rather halfway to finally waking up.

So, I will ask again. Have you ever slowed down time? Have you ever stepped outside of your frame to watch the world move around you. Slowing down your thoughts, your motions, your life, one can observe in a new perspective and objectively analyze the human race. Try it, the best that you can, and then ask yourself the question. Who lives a more fulfilling life, the human or the fly?

Peace and Love from France,

Scotty